Page 12 of Onyx Realm

Now that the rest of my night was free, I crept into the dark house, a plate of roast lamb in one hand and fresh bread in the other. Serena dozed in an armchair. I chuckled softly, since I no doubt scared her half to death outside just a little while ago. Walking back from the marina, I was headed to my aunt’s house for these containers of dinner, when I surprised my guest sneaking about outside.

Which she’d been told not to do.

Admiration flared inside me, and I laughed softly again. I liked her, if only for the streak of stubbornness so like my own. The moment she was told not to do something, it was exactly what she’d done. Quietly, I lit several candles and began to setthe small round table. The simple white dishes clacked softly. I added linens and silverware, noting how the setting looked more appealing than any of the Michelin restaurants in the big city. Every time I came home, the same wave of nostalgia washed over me. This was where I belonged, not the condo in Tampa. While there was a view of the sea, her song was smothered by the concrete jungle and the thick walls. Here, it played through the open window, carried on the salty breeze. I listened to its rhythmic roar, rush, and crash as I worked, smiling at the familiar tune.

“Mother of god, you scared me!”

Just hearing her voice brought a smile to my lips. I continued to move about, setting the steaming dishes of food out.

“Join me for dinner?” I intoned.

Serena stepped into the kitchen. “You’re the one who rescued me.”

“I am.”

“It wasn’t a question. But this is.” Her voice took on a hard edge. “Your friend said I wasn’t free to leave. Why?”

From the corner of my eye, I watched her. Long, golden hair fell to her hips. Her face was bandaged, but beneath the damage was a raging beauty that was raw and natural. The kind models and paint could never replicate. She was petite, much smaller than me, but those curves.... Theos! They would drive a man to madness. My blood heated in an instinctual reaction.

“We needed to have a little chat.” I turned.

Serena peered through the dark kitchen. I knew she searched for my face. I wasn’t ready to show her that—which was only delaying the inevitable. For a little while, I could pretend I wasn’t a monster of nightmares, one that would send her screaming for safety. When she couldn’t make out my features, she tipped her chin up.

“What’s up with the theatrics?” she demanded.

Ah, that imperious tone. Mirth twitched on my lips. This woman carried a designer handbag and spoke with authority. It was safe to guess she came from money.

“What’s your last name, Serena?”

“Answer mine first.”

Now I really did smile. “There’s no overhead lighting.”

She paused. “So that’s why I couldn’t find a switch. How very...rustic.”

That was her trying to be polite. I wanted to laugh at the high-maintenance damsel making the best of roughing it. But I kept my humor to myself.

“We keep to the older ways,” I explained. “Energy bills are low, we’re self-sufficient, and it’s a greener way to live. The items that do run on electricity are powered by means of our own devising, which makes the electric company hate us. Your turn.”

“Larson.”

That one word felt like a lie. My gut, which was never wrong, told me that she was as far from Scandinavian heritage as I was. No, this beauty was from the Mediterranean Basin, same as me.

“Why did those men take you, Serena?” I leaned against the fridge.

“They’d been hired to, I suppose,” she said with a shrug.

A bit of truth.But I would need more than that.

“When can I go?” she demanded. She stepped closer to a candle, and the shaft of light fell across her marred visage.

The swelling was thankfully reduced, but the marks....

Theos. That’s my fault.“You’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future.”

Serena huffed, delicate nostrils flaring. The dim light of the table candles danced in her eyes. Beautiful, fucking beautiful. That fire deep in them, it blazed with a hellish wrath.

Heat coursed through my veins.

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